Eat healthy food

Introduction

Health is wealth and good health is priceless. People make efforts to not only achieve but also remain in good heath.

But these efforts do not always yield good results because of many factors responsible for ill health, some of which fall beyond the control of individuals.

This post will introduce some important steps that should be taken by both individuals and governments in order to achieve a healthy population.

In my previous post, I wrote about the different perspectives of Donaldson and Gordon on staying healthy.

These tips are comprehensive and will benefit all that aspire for optimal health and wellbeing. Here are the tips:

Ten Tips For Better Health -Donaldson

1. Don’t smoke. If you can, stop. If you can’t, cut down.

2. Follow a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

3. Keep physically active.

4. Manage stress by, for example, talking things through and making time to relax.

5. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

6. Cover up in the sun, and protect children from sunburn.

7. Practice safer sex.

8. Take up cancer screening opportunities.

9. Be safe on the roads: follow the Highway Code.

10. Learn the First Aid ABC : airways, breathing, circulation.

Families Keeping physically active

Ten Tips for Staying Healthy -Gordon

1. Don’t be poor. If you can, stop. If you can’t, try not to be poor for long.

2. Don’t have poor parents.

3. Own a car.

4. Don’t work in a stressful, low paid manual job.

5. Don’t live in damp, low quality housing.

6. Be able to afford to go on a foreign holiday and sunbathe.

7. Practice not losing your job and don’t become unemployed.

8. Take up all benefits you are entitled to, if you are unemployed, retired or sick or disabled.

9. Don’t live next to a busy major road or near a polluting factory.

10. Learn how to fill in the complex housing benefit/asylum application forms before you become homeless and destitute.

What you need to know to stay healthy

On close scrutiny of the respective tips, I reckon both authors complement each other on ways of achieving better health.

Donaldson considered the downstream factors responsible for ill health while Gordon chose to highlight the upstream factors.

It is worthy of note that both upstream and downstream factors influence lifestyles.

It is easier to take healthy steps and lead a healthy lifestyle when an enabling environment is created.

For example, someone working in a stressful low paid job may find it difficult to manage stress and will have less time to relax.

Also, poverty will limit access to balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

It is someone that can afford a foreign holiday and sunbathe that can be expected to cover up in the sun and protect children from sunburn, as recommended by Donaldson.

Gordon linked physical activity to ownership of a car, which means that wealth can influence lifestyle choices, for good or bad.

Similarly, poverty, unemployment, and loss of jobs can drive people crazy and make them engage in risky lifestyles like smoking, alcoholism, and unsafe sex.

Also, one way of being safe on the road is not to live near a busy road. The choice to stay away from road mishaps is also influenced by availability of healthy spaces.

Further, humans have to deal with pressing challenges like housing and other social issues, before thinking of how to learn some emergency procedures.

Finally, cancer screening opportunities cannot make sense to someone struggling with unemployment, retirement, sickness or disability, and looking forward to his or her benefits and entitlement.

From the foregoing, it is evident that individuals, families, communities, religious organisations, and governments have a major role to play in ensuring that people have better health.

Regular exercise

Live a healthy lifestyle and use healthy spaces

In line with the above tips, people should eat a balanced diet. A healthy diet improves overall health, boosts immune system, and helps to maintain a healthy weight.

With the proliferation of restaurants all over the place and their offers of limited meal choices, it becomes difficult sometimes to eat healthy foods.

However, eating habits can be adjusted by making some easy choices, the first being to eat breakfast to keep from overeating throughout the day. Another choice is never to skip meals.

It is important to try and achieve balance, moderation and variety when choosing foods, and to keep a good balance of protein, whole grains, fruits, dairy and vegetables every day.

Also, physical activity such as running, brisk walking, jogging and other exercises generally may be difficult to be fitted into busy schedules, but people should be encouraged to engage more in physical activity.

Governments and institutions should put in place facilities, and create healthy spaces that will make it easy for people to engage in exercises.

It is true that fitting exercises into a busy schedule is not easy but walking, for example, is an easy exercise for everyone who is encouraged to make efforts to walk more every day.

To stay healthy, conscious efforts should be made to engage in an exercise lasting thirty minutes to one hour every day.

Also, there is need to visit and take advantage of physical fitness classes and intramural sports programs being offered by some centres and institutions, and get involved in some exercises while having fun.

Do not forget to get registered to places with free or reduced memberships for gymnastics. This is a perk that when fully taken advantage of will improve one’s health and wellbeing.

Getting adequate sleep

Get enough sleep

Further, getting enough sleep helps to stay healthy both physically and mentally. Deprivation of sleep can lead to fatigue, weight loss or gain, reduced brain function, and poor cognitive function.

Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep. Sleeping this long for an adult can improve overall health. Teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep while children need nine to eleven hours of sleep to stay healthy.

Taking a short nap during the day will rest the body throughout the day. In order to get adequate sleep there is need to stick to a schedule, and keep the room quiet and dark before bedtime.

Regular hand-washing

Scientific studies have shown that regular hand-washing can help prevent contagious infections and diseases.

Therefore, hand washing is required before contact with the eyes, nose and mouth, before eating meals, and when around sick people.

Avoid smoking

In addition, smoking has been found to shorten lifespan. Smoking poses many life-threatening risks for ailments such as emphysema, heart diseases, and lung cancer.

It is a lifestyle that is harmful to health and should be avoided. To stay healthy, do not smoke, and for smokers it is time to quit.

Staying healthy also demands that we drink lots of water. Staying hydrated can boost concentration and help keep from overeating.

Drink lots of water

Life and water are inseparable. Drinking lots of water energizes and replenishes the body throughout the day. As such, always drink more water than soft drinks because of its many obvious benefits.

Find time to relax

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. You remember that? We have to find time to relax.

Many people are usually pretty stressed with work, classes and exams, but having down-time and relaxing helps to stay healthy.

Stress causes many health problems and getting too worked up can adversely affect one’s health and wellbeing.

One of the easiest ways to relax is to create regular breaks from the hustling and bustling of life, and hang out with friends.

Relaxing can also take the form of reading a book, picking up a hobby and watching some favorite television shows.

Conclusion

These tips have shown that it is an individual’s rights and responsibility to choose to stay healthy.

It is also the responsibility of the governments to create conducive environment that makes it easier for individuals to make a healthy choice.

What do you think? Thanks.